Keith Jarrett : Sun Bear Concerts - SHM Single Layer SACD, Box of 6

Keith Jarrett's “Sun Bear Concerts” are undoubtedly one of the most monumental works ever recorded. The original ten LPs of the “Sun Bear Concerts” box set, later reissued on six CDs, contained recordings of five complete concerts given by the celebrated pianist in Japan in November 1976. Of all the releases on the ECM label, the “Sun Bear Concerts” box set remains the most controversial. Critical reactions ranged from ecstatic enthusiasm to outright outrage, though this was mostly directed at the sheer scope of the documentation rather than the music itself. “These marathons prove that Jarrett is one of the greatest improvisers in jazz,” said British trumpeter and jazz journalist Ian Carr. “He obviously has an inexhaustible flow of rhythmic and melodic ideas, one of the most brilliant pianistic techniques ever, and the ability to articulate complex and profound emotions.”

Never before (and never since) have a musician's improvisational resources been subjected to such exhaustive scrutiny. As Jarrett once said, there's nowhere to hide in a solo concert. Even today, the consistency of his inventiveness and the breadth of his melodic imagination are astonishing. Even the passages with emphatic ostinati that Jarrett intersperses to draw new ideas have a hypnotic power and motivic value. In the course of the tour, which began in Kyoto and took him via Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo to Sapporo, Jarrett created new music rich in events and detail. And each of these concerts had its own unmistakable character.

As part of the popular “Verve Acoustic Sounds Series,” Universal Music Japan presents the sonically impressive remastering of this ECM classic – as a limited-edition Japan SHM SACD box set with mini LP-style cardboard sleeves and OBI stripe.